The timing of the former Senate Trump prosecution trial after the House accused him of a single article last week is still undecided. If that happens, the trial will bring the Senate business to a standstill, while the Senate is still struggling to reach a power-sharing agreement to govern a 50-50 Senate. Senate President Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell are expected to discuss trial logistics later Thursday, several sources told CNN.
Another factor that complicates the timing of the trial: the question of who Trump will represent remains unanswered.
Pelosi told a news conference on Thursday that the House was “ready” to begin the trial, but would wait until the Senate was prepared before the indictment was formally handed over, the step that would cause the trial to begin the next day. .
“They have now informed us that they are ready to receive. The question is other questions about how a trial will proceed, but we are ready,” Pelosi said of the Senate.
House Democrats are discussing sending the indictment to the Senate as early as Friday, two sources said, but a complicated factor remains the fact that Trump still does not have a lawyer to represent him in a Senate hearing.
“The articles can be walked on Friday,” one source told CNN.
There are also discussions on how to ensure a trial can move quickly and not overwhelm President Joe Biden’s agenda, but ultimately no timing has been set. Trump’s lack of lawyers underscores the chaos the former president is still injecting on Capitol Hill, even after leaving Washington on Wednesday before Biden’s inauguration.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and ally of the former president, suggested in a conference with Senate Republicans on Thursday that Butch Bowers, a lawyer in South Carolina, represent Representative Trump during his indictment, according to a person on the call. CNN contacted Bowers for comment.
Graham had earlier told reporters that Trump would have his legal team in place “fairly soon” with “people who are capable and well acquainted with things that are around such situations.”
“I will concentrate on the unconstitutional argument,” Graham said. “They have not presented any evidence in the House, so I do not know if you can present evidence in the Senate that you did not present – I think you could – but we will make our own decisions about the president going too far, was this incitement under the law, what is the real outcome there? So it must really, frankly, be a speedy trial. ‘
Republicans have called on Democrats to drop the Trump Senate accusation of Trump, arguing that it is unconstitutional and that it directly undermines Biden’s inauguration message of unity in the first days of his presidency.
Pelosi turned down those calls Thursday.
“No, I’m not worried about that,” she said. “The fact is that the President of the United States has committed an act of incitement to rebellion. I do not think it is very unifying to say, ‘Oh, let’s forget it and move on. That’s not how you unite. … Do not say to a president, ‘Do what you want in the last months of your government, you’ll get a card you can get out of jail.’
Democratic Senate leaders say they do not know when the trial will begin, although Schumer has promised that a vote will be taken on whether Trump will be convicted on the House charge of ‘inciting insurgency’.
“Leader McConnell and I are trying to come up with a two-way agreement on how to conduct the trial,” Schumer said Thursday. ‘But make no mistake about it. There will be a trial, there will be an up or down vote on whether the president should be found guilty. I believe he should be convicted. And we’ll have to wait to see when she submits the articles. about to find out how it can all be done. ‘
Asked when the articles could be sent, Senate Democratic whip Dick Durbin said it was still unresolved.
“Whether it’s going to be a full-fledged trial with witnesses and witnesses, or ‘speeding up’ – whatever that means – the final decision is not even close,” Durbin added.
During Trump’s 2020 indictment, executives focused much of their case on the need to have witnesses at the trial to confirm their allegations that Trump sought Ukraine’s help to undermine Biden ahead of the 2020 campaign. This push ultimately failed because Republicans voted against hearing witnesses before Trump was acquitted.
This time, the Democrats are watching a quick hearing, given the fact that the Senate is likely to come to a standstill while the trial is underway – meaning Biden’s cabinet nominees will no longer be confirmed.
Democrats have not yet said whether they will seek witnesses for this trial, but Pelosi hinted on Thursday that they might not have to do so, saying drivers should make the decision.
“I do see a big difference between something we’ve all seen and information you may need to substantiate an indictment, mainly based on a call made by the president and described as perfect,” he said. Pelosi said. “This year, the whole world has witnessed the incitement of the President, the execution of his call to action and the violence used.”
House executives are meeting and preparing to file their case with the Senate, and Democrats continue to hope they can convince 17 Republicans to convict Trump, especially given the fact that McConnell indicated he kept an open mind and went to the argument will listen.
However, a Senate Republican faction warns McConnell that his support will quickly wane in the Senate GOP conference if he votes to convict Trump.
This story and headline was updated Thursday with additional developments.
CNN’s Kristin Wilson, Daniella Diaz, Annie Grayer and Clare Foran contributed to this report.